July/August 2024 - 22

GREAT LAKES EXPO NEWS
Great Lakes EXPO 2024
Premier event for specialty crop ag innovation, networking
BY MADI SCHAFER
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
W
ith over 5,000 attendees, 800-plus booth
opportunities and over 400 vendors, the
Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market
EXPO and Michigan Greenhouse Growers EXPO make
it easy to meet the decision makers on the show floor.
The show takes place Dec. 10-12 at DeVos Place in
Grand Rapids, Michigan.
What's more, there are over 70 education sessions and
workshops offered over the three-day period, including
programming on specialty crops, greenhouses, farm
marketing and more. The specialty crop researchers at
Michigan State University and other universities speak in
many of the sessions, plus pesticide credits for applicators
are available for attending many of the sessions.
Great Lakes EXPO 2023 recap
The Peterson Farm Bros made their Great Lakes EXPO
debut, generating the show's largest crowd in years.
Consisting of Greg, Nathan and Kendal Peterson, their
YouTube channel has amassed over 50 million views.
At the Great Lakes EXPO, the Peterson Farm Bros
shared their story, performing some of their greatest hits
and discussed the lessons they've learned over the last
eleven years.
" Fancy Lady Cowgirl, " Courtenay
DeHoff also appeared at the 2023
Great Lakes EXPO, giving attendees
her insight and direction into
personal branding. DeHoff explained
how to better expand businesses
through the power of social media, websites and more.
Emerging Tech Innovation sessions were new to EXPO
in 2023 - and will return in 2024. These sessions featured
technologies that hold promise for addressing challenges
to the specialty crop industry related to crop inputs,
precision monitoring, irrigation, harvesting, sorting, waste
reduction, labor, downstream processing and farm-level
decision-making. Some companies in attendance were
GUSS, Stout, MSUResearch Foundation, Carbon Robotics,
FarmDroid, Monarch Tractor, Farm-NG, and more.
Great Lakes EXPO brought more labor-saving
technology in 2023 with an aisle exclusively dedicated to
innovation and agriculture technology. Presenters taught
growers the process of bringing innovation to the industry
and how they can benefit from the testing or early-stage
use of these technologies.
The Valent Trade Show stage was also quite popular
in 2023. With 45-minute sessions featuring the Peterson
22 | JULY/AUGUST 2024
Peterson Farm Bros at Great Lakes Expo 2023. Photo by
Debbie Eisele.
Farm Bros, AgBiome, 40 Under 40 Awards, Head
Honchos LLC and more, attendees gained insights into
the world of agriculture.
Looking ahead to 2024
This year's Great Lakes EXPO will be Dec. 10-12, at
DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Registration for
the show opens earlier than ever - Aug. 1 - so save
the date!
Great Lakes EXPO is reimagining the EXPO banquet
this year into a complimentary event for all attendees,
offering light refreshments, hard
cider and an evening of networking,
awards and celebration.
Attendees can expect more
speaker sessions this year, including
a session about starting a mushroom
operation. These sessions will be
built in to a day-long event on Wednesday, Dec. 11.
The Innovation Aisle returns this year and continues
its focus on labor-saving technologies. There are a few
shipping grants available to help with shipping costs to
get new technology to EXPO. Any interested company can
get in touch with EXPO trade show management, details
can be found at glexpo.com.
Produce and worker safety sessions have moved
to Thursday, Dec. 12, and will incorporate pesticide
certification testing. The safety classes will feature
standard and advanced levels and will be in both English
and Spanish.
Another change at this year's EXPO includes a food
truck court and concessions for lunch. Instead of the
usual hot lunch buffet, enjoy a variety of food options
from local businesses!
Learn more about this year's show and more at www.
glexpo.com.
http://www.glexpo.com http://www.glexpo.com http://www.glexpo.com
July/August 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July/August 2024
